INDIA UNINC. by VAIDYANATHAN PROF. R

Author:VAIDYANATHAN, PROF. R. [VAIDYANATHAN, PROF. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Westland
Published: 2014-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

Source: pp A-57;Table 3.2; Economic Survey –2012-13, Ministry of Finance, GoI New Delhi.

Note:*Excluding casual and daily rated workers

We also notice that the pension benefits of government employees are one of the best in the world since it is defined benefit till 2004 and post January 2004 it is defined contribution, commutable, inflation indexed and family security — inclusive. If you were employed in World Bank /IMF or in the UN, the pension in US dollars is not taxed. Hence, lack of social security at the time of retirement cannot be a complaint for government employees.

Another related issue is the numbers of hours of ‘Effective Work’ put in by government employees, particularly at the lower levels. It is surmised that on any given day in many government offices, just two hours is spent on real work, effectively speaking. It implies that the emoluments are for 10 hours of work per week, which is much lower than even the European standards of 30 to 35 hours of work per week. A large number of employees who are seen playing cards during office hours, on the lawns of various Bhavans of New Delhi during winter, maintain that they provide ‘outside’ support to the government!

The important issue is the ‘Own Account’ collection by government employees [which is variously referred to as bribes, corruption, speed money, grease, rent seeking, etc.] and collection on ‘Client Account’, namely the government. It is to be noted that only employees in revenue departments like sales tax, excise, customs, and income tax, etc., can collect money from citizens on ‘Client Account’ and ‘Own Account’, whereas employees in practically all other Departments starting from birth certificate issuance to burial ground in charge [that is womb to tomb!] can collect payments only on ‘Own account’.

This ‘Own Account’ collection, coupled with client account collection [regular taxes] constitute a large percentage of our national income, and from that perspective, we are a highly taxed nation. We will explore later the estimate of ‘Own Account’ collections in the Uninc. context and their implications.

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